Beñat impressive in Mallorca

Just like yesterday, Beñat impressed with his early-season form today in the penultimate leg of the Challenge de Baleares. On the hilly course he placed 7th, only 7 seconds down on stage-winner Rui Costa. In the same group was the ever-aggressive Amets, also he looking to be climbing alright already. JJ and Mikel both came in 1:20 down, surprising given Mikel's strong showing yesterday. Iván ended up 2:33 in arrears, while Igor continued his slow start to the season by placing 56th, a full 3:25 back. Rubén came in alongside Igor, while Gorka ended up a massive 8:02 back. Alán stepped off. Tomorrow, the last stage, will probably be a chance for the sprinters to shine, so Euskaltel will pin all their hopes on Koldo.

For Orbea, Mikel Landa was once again impressive, coming in with the first group 7 seconds back. He was the only rider to get a result though, as the rest of the guys either ended up outside the time-limit or as DNFs.